Monday, May 7, 2018

Fleurs de Ville

I'd read somewhere that there was to be an event in Burnaby called Fleurs de Villes that looked like it would be right up my alley. Thus, I boarded the Expo line from downtown Vancouver, getting off at Metrotown.
I'd not been back there since we went with Matt and Tom in late December, mostly because I don't need to do any shopping. Taking only 25 minutes, stress free, I might add, the trip cost about $3.50 one way. In case you are wondering, and who amongst you doesn't want to know that sort of thing?

Oh my!
Before we go any further, I must tell you that there are going to be a whole lot of photographs, primarily because it was so spectacular and I want you to feel as if you were there beside me. Ready?

The date was posted, however, what I did not know, arriving at around 1:30 in the afternoon, is that the displays were meant to be completed by 3PM, leaving most of them still in progress during my visit. No worries actually. I am delighted that I got to see the process, however, no doubt, seeing them completed had to be spectacular. (I did not return) A cross country tour of Canada, the event is meant to showcase local talent and, well, the website says it way better than I can.
There was but one thing amiss and that was the harsh lighting from the skylights, but I still think you will enjoy it. Please note the fellow in the black t-shirt because we'll be getting back to him.
The creativity on display was nothing short of amazing to me. The woman below was way behind, compared to others, on her creation,.
On the other hand, this one was nearly complete.
Once open, you were able to walk in front of them, however, because I could not, instead, using my zoom lens, I could get close enough to see the details, such as how gorgeous this headpiece is.
More up close and personal.
Here is the artist still at work on the above.
Here is an artist admiring and documenting her work.
I was absolutely dying over the "stockings."
What the heck could this brownish plant material used to make this "dress" be?
Can you even imagine?
Back to the wrapped legs one, here it is from the front.
A bride set amongst a sea of hydrangeas.
Putting the final touches on.
I chatted with two girls as they worked on this one,
I learned that they submitted designs in February on order to be chosen to showcase their talents. How does one come up with such artful designs?
I absolutely loved the "skirt" on this one. Then again, it was hard to choose a favorite because they were all spectacular in one way or another. Apparently, gowns were not mandatory.
While I was shooting from the second level, a woman beside me began a conversation that included her describing having just seen a duck family outside the mall. My response was "how did you know I was a bird nut?" Although it is a huge mall, her directions were stellar, and before long, lo and behold, there they were, just as cute as can be.
Her directions may have been stellar, but her description of the ducks habitat was not. She described it as a pond, making me think of, well, a pond. Instead it was one of the water features in front of the mall. All the better though because it was darn fun watching the ducklings climb up the wall and jump back in the water!!

Back inside, when I left, the man I pointed out in the beginning's creation looked like this:
I was wondering about those buckets of hot pink roses, well, wonder no more.
The creation on the left of him, looked like this.
Maybe the Rose Bowl parade is something like this on a much grander scale? In any case, I've never been this close to anything such as this before, so it was quite the treat.
The sheer abundance of color and texture had me in awe.
Have a look at that skirt up close.
Quite the contrast between jeans and a t-shirt. One entrant made theirs off-site, showing up with it in pieces.
Pretty awesome when all put together.
By the time I left, our behind schedule girl had this much done. She did have about an hour to go, which if she made it, seems incredible to me.
The tag line, seemed to be: "flowers make us happy,"
which I heartily second, however, ducklings sure do bring a smile to your face as well, don't they?
This will definitely go down as one of my many favorite Vancouver experiences.

yours truly,

Gail


No comments:

A Week Ago Tuesday